Hamilton Health Innovation Check-Up
Last Monday of Each Month
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Click to Register for the Next Health Checkup Meeting
Virtually from McMaster Innovation Park
175 Longwood Rd. South.
Hamilton, ON
The Hamilton Health Innovation Check-up is an open discussion with the goal of raising awareness of what’s happening in the Hamilton health innovation ecosystem, identifying partnership opportunities, and building personal networks. The focus of the meeting will be on the development, deployment, and adoption of health innovation.
Meetings are open to all members of the life science community; public and private; large and small. Participants are free to share or just listen.
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Check out past meeting minutes and presentations here
October 28, 2024
- Topic: Overview and update – Afynia Labratories
- Guest Speaker: Dr. Lauren Foster (co-founder & CEO) and Dr. Jocelyn Wessels (co-founder & CSO)
November 25, 2024
- Topic: Overview and update – ToeFx
- Guest Speaker: Monika Yazdanian, CEO
December, 2024
- No Meeting
January 27, 2025
- Topic: Overview and update – OmniaBio
- Guest Speaker: Tony Rotunno, SVP / GM and Site Head
January 29, 2024
- Topic: Overview and update – Swift Medical
- Guest Speaker: Rob Fraser, VP Clinical Innovation
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
February 26, 2024
- Topic: Overview and Update – Launchit Ventures
Guest Speaker: Jamie Harsevoort, Founder & CEO
[presentation slides used]
March 25, 2024
- Topic: Meet the Synapse Competition Winners
- Guest Speaker: Jennifer Gauvreau, Director, Marketing, Innovation Factory
April 29, 2024
- Topic: Overview & Update – Cntrl+
- Guest Speaker: Karen Brunet, Founder & President
[presentation slides used]
May 27, 2024
- Topic: SOPHIE, CAMEDA and HEALTHI Program & Looking Forward
- Guest Speaker: Alek Tirpan (Program Manager), Brandon McIntyre (Program Coordinator), Jadyn Pereira (Business Analyst Intern), Innovation Factory
[presentation slides used]
June 24, 2024
- Topic: Overview and update – Vessl Prosthetics
- Guest Speaker: Sydney Robinson, CEO and Co-Founder
[presentation slides used] - Update – Bay Area Research Logistics
- Guest Speaker: Kaitlin Guarasci, General Manager
[presentation slides used]
July 29, 2024
- Topic: Overview of Mohawk Medbuy & Innovation Launchpad Program
- Guest Speaker: Markus Lenarcyzk, Director Innovation & Value-Added Sourcing, Mohawk Medbuy Corporation
[presentation slides used]
August 26, 2024
- Topic: Mohawk College’s IDEAWORKS
- Guest Speaker: Doug Ward, General Manager, mHealth & eHealth Development and Innovation Centre (MEDIC @Mohawk)
[presentation slides used]
September 30, 2024
- Topic: 2024 Advamed Medtech Conference
- Guest Speakers: Ray Briscuso, Executive Vice President, Conferences & Events (Advamed),
Asmaa Al-Hashimi, Life Science Lead, EcDev (City of Hamilton),
Sergio Aguirre, Co-Founder & CEO (Epineuron), and
Leslie Ravid, CMO (GTI Medical)
[presentation slides used – Advamed] [presentation slides used – Invest Hamilton
January 30, 2023
- Topic: Overview and update – EmergConnect
- Guest Speaker: Ron Galaev, CEO
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
February 27, 2023
- Topic: Overview and update – FyeLABS & BioscienceLA
- Guest Speaker: Suvojit Ghosh, Founder & CEO (FyeLABS)
Dave Whelan, CEO (BioscienceLA) - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
March 27, 2023
- Topic: Update on Synapse Pitch Competition Winners!
- Guest Speakers:
Dallas Barnes, founder & CEO, Reya Health
Oleksiy Zaika, co-founder, Vessl Prosthetics
Kaitlyn Spivak, Events Coordinator, Innovation Factory - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
April 24, 2023
- Topic: Overview and update – Epineuron Technologies
- Guest Speaker: Sergio Aguirre, Founder & CEO
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
May 29, 2023
- Topic: Overview and update – Cosm Medical
- Guest Speaker: Derek Sham (Founder & CEO)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
June 26, 2023
- Topic: Overview and update – Synmedix
- Guest Speaker: Maya Farha (CEO)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
July 31, 2023
- Topic: Program overview, impact and update – Ontario Centre of Innovation: Life Science Investment Fund (LSIF)
- Guest Speaker: Michael Jones (Business Development and Commercialization Manager, Ontario Centre of Innovation)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used – OCI] - [presentation slides used – Fero International]
August 28, 2023
- Topic: Overview and update – Able Innovations
- Guest Speaker: Jayiesh Singh, CEO
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
September 25, 2023
- Topic: Program overview, impact and update – Ontario Innovation Bioscience Organization (OBIO)
- Guest Speaker: Christina Yeh (VP Technology Commercialization)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
October 30, 2023
- Topic: Overview and update – PreOperative Performance
- Guest Speaker: Fergal Kerins (Founder & CEO)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
November 27, 2023
- Topic: Overview and update – Cortex Design & CAMEDA Program
Guest Speaker: Dylan Horvath, Founder & CEO - presentation slides used
[and a TedX talk]
January 31, 2022
- Topic: Overview and introduction – Good To Go Test
- Guest Speaker: Catriona Franc, Manager Business Operations, Bay Area Health Trust
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
February 28, 2022
- Topic: Overview and update – Allarta Inc.
- Guest Speaker: Maria Antonakos (Co-Founder & COO) & Harald Stöver (Co-Founder & CEO)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation overview provided – full slides available upon request]
March 28, 2022
- Topic: Update on Synapse Pitch Competition Winners!
- Guest Speaker: Jennifer Gauvreau (Manager, Marketing & Events, Innovation Factory)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used] - Guest Speaker: Saumik Biswas (Founder & CEO, Tenomix)
[presentation slides used] - Guest Speaker: Roe Sivanandan (President & CEO, Gojitech)
[presentation slides used] - Guest Speaker: Sarrah Lal (Founder & CEO, Kultura Diagnostics)
[presentation slides used]
April 25, 2022
- Topic: Overview and update – McArthur Medical Supplies
- Guest Speaker: Frank Fiorenza (Inventor/Product Development/Sales Leader)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
May 30, 2022
- Topic: Overview and update – Ironstone Product Development
- Guest Speaker: Joel Ironstone (President & Principal Consultant)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
June 27, 2022
- Topic: Overview and update – HyIvy Health
- Guest Speaker: Rachel Bartholomew (Founder & CEO)
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
July 25, 2022
- Topic: Government of Ontario’s Life Science Strategy
- Guest Speaker: Andrew Guy, Director, Advanced Technologies Branch (Innovation, Scale-Ups and Regional Economic Dev. Division), Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
August 29, 2022
- Topic: Overview and update – AtomVie Global Radiopharma
- Guest Speaker: Ghadeer Shubassi, Associate Director, AtomVie Global Radiopharma Inc
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used]
September 26, 2022
- Topic: Overview and update – NERv Technology
- Guest Speaker: Amr Abdelgawad, Founder and COO
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slide used]
October 31, 2022
- Topic: Overview and update – Adapsyn Bioscience
- Guest Speaker: Andy Haigh, President & CEO
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used – please contact Synapse for a copy]
November 28, 2022
- Topic: Overview of Ontario Genomics BioCreate Program
- Speaker: Brittney Hess, Manager, Investment & Venture Development & Elaine Corbett, Director, Sector Innovations & Programs, Ontario Genomics
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
[presentation slides used – please contact Synapse for a copy]
January 25 2021
- Topic: Investment Approach and Overview: HaloHealth Angel Investor Network
- Guest Speaker: Luke Sheen, Executive Director, HaloHealth
[presentation slides used, and are available upon request] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
February 22, 2021
- Topic: Recent Success and Looking Forward: Enhanced Medical Nutrition
- Guest Speaker: Eric Zimmerman, CEO and Founder, Enhanced Medical Nutrition
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
March 29, 2021
- Topic: Meet the Synapse Competition Winners
- Guest Speaker: Jennifer Gauvreau, Manager Marketing & Events, Innovation Factory
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
April 26, 2021
- Topic: Overview of CREATE (CentRE for dAta science and digiTal hEalth) @ Hamilton Health Sciences
- Guest Speaker: Jeremy Petch, Founder, CREATE
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
May 31, 2021
- Topic: Compliance for Digital Health Data Privacy and Security
- Guest Speaker: Simon Woodside, Co-Founder and CTO, Medstack
[presentation slides used and these] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
June 28, 2021
- Topic: CCEM & HEALTHI – NRC-IRAP Programs in Hamilton
- Guest Speaker: Andreas Korinek, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy (CCEM); [presentation slides used – CCEM]
- Alex Muggah, Director, Synapse Consortium; [presentation slides used – HEALTHI]
- Joon Kim, ITA, NRC-IRAP
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
July 26, 2021
- Topic: Southern Ontario Pharmaceutical and Health Innovation Ecosystem (SOPHIE) Program
- Guest Speaker: Michael Jones, SOPHIE Program Manager
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
August 30, 2021
- Topic: Leveraging Manufacturing Infrastructure to Grow Life Sciences Firms
- Guest Speaker: Stephen Veldhuis, Director of McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
September 27, 2021
- Topic: Navigate pain points of scaling a business – from ideation to IPO and beyond
- Guest Speaker: Sarah Romanuck, Director, SWO + GTA, RBCx
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
October 25, 2021
- Topic: Overview and update – Eye3 Concepts Inc.
- Guest Speaker: Kate Riley, CEO of Eye3
[presentation slides used – available upon request] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
November 29, 2021
- Topic: Overview and update – Elarex Inc.
- Guest Speaker: Brent Lefebvre (Director, Partnerships & Strategy) & Rob DeWitte (Co-Founder & CEO)
[presentation slides used] - Topic: Overview of SOSCIP (Smart Computing for Innovation) Program
Derrik Leach (Partnerships and Business Development Lead)
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
January 2020
- Topic: Overview of Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Capacity & Capabilities
- Guest Speaker: Padraic Foley, Director of Business Development and Commercialization, OCE
- Guest Speaker: Nicole DeLong, Manager, Business Development and Commercialization (Health), OCE
[presentation slides used, and are available upon request] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
February 2020
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights [not available]
- Topic: Overview of Michael G. DeGroote Health Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship Initiative
- Guest Speaker: Sarrah Lal, Education Lead, MGD Health Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship
- Guest Speaker: Leigh Wilson, Senior Manager, MGD Health Innovation Commercialization & Entrepreneurship
[presentation slides used]
March 2020
- Topic: Community Updates & Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
April 2020
- Topic: COVID-19 Community Watch App
- Guest Speaker: Jamie Harsevoort Founder and CEO, Webility Solutions Inc.
- Guest Speaker: Anthony DiValentino Director of Client Relations, Lumedia
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
May 2020
- Topic: Thriving in Our New Environment
- Guest Speaker: Peter Kalra, President & CEO, Bay Area Health Trust (BAHT)
- Guest Speaker: John Hands, Director, Business Development, Bay Area Health Trust
- Guest Speaker: Kaitlin Guarasci, Director of Client Serivces, Bay Area Research Logistics
- [presentation slides used]
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
June 2020
- Topic: Hamilton Hospitals Engagement with CanHealth Network
- Guest Speaker: Fraser Edward,VP Partnerships & Business Development, St. Joseph’s Health System
- Guest Speaker: Dan Perri, Chief Medical Information Officer, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
- Guest Speaker: Katie Porter, Executive Director, Research Administration, Hamilton Health Sciences
[presentation slides used, and are available upon request] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
July 2020
- Topic: Overview and Update – VoxNeuro
- Guest Speaker: James Connolley, CEO and Co-Founder, VoxNeuro
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
August 2020
- Topic: Overview and Update – ToexFx
- Guest Speaker: Monika Yazdanian, CEO and Co-Founder, ToeFX
September 2020
- Topic: Making Interdisciplinary Research a Reality at the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health
- Guest Speaker: Prof. Jeremy Hirota, Canada Research Chair in Respiratory Mucosal Immunology
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering –McMaster University
CEO and Co-Founder –Infinotype
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
October 2020
- Topic: Introducting the Clinic@Mac and the Clinic@St. Joe’s
- Guest Speaker: Sarrah Lal, Assistant Professor, Division of Education & Innovation Education Lead, MGD Health Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship
- Guest Speaker: Leigh Wilson, Project Development Manager, MGD Health Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship (MGD Health ICE)
- Guest Speaker: Milica Vukmirovic, Michael DeGroote Innovation, Commercialization
Entrepreneurship Fellow, McMaster University
Innovation and Commercialization Consultant, The Research Institute at St. Joe’s Hamilton
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
November 2020
- Topic: Strategy and Future Vision of the McMaster Innovation Park
- Guest Speaker: Ty Shattuck, CEO, McMaster Innovation Park
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
December 2020
- Holiday break – no Health Check Up
January 2019
- Topic: Technology & Future of Healthcare Conference
- Guest Speaker: Dennis DiValentino, Physician & President of Hamilton Medical Academy
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
February 2019
- Topic: Overview and Update – Enhanced Medical Nutrition
- Guest Speaker: Eric Zimmerman, CEO and Co-Founder, Enhanced Medical Nutrition
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
March 2019
- Topic: Synapse Life Science Competition 2019
- Guest Speaker: Jennifer Gauvreau, Manager, Marketing & Events, Innovation Factory
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
April 2019
- Topic: Overview of the mHealth & eHealth Development and Innovation Centre (MEDIC)
- Guest Speaker: Paul Brown, General Manager, MEDIC, Mohawk College
[no slides] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
May 2019
- Topic: Overview and update – Centre for Probe Discovery and Commercialization
- Guest Speaker: Bruno Paquin, Director, Business Development, Centre for Probe Discovery and Commercialization (CPDC)
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
June 2019
- Topic: Building Ontario’s Health Science Industry
- Guest Speaker: Grant Burns, VP Public Affairs and Communication Partnerships and GR, OBIO
- Guest Speaker: Sean Penn, Director Program Development, OBIO
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
July 2019
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
August 2019
- Topic: Overview and Investment Approach of AngelOne Investor Network
- Guest Speaker: David Wright, Manager, Investor Services, AngelOne Network
[presentation slides used] - Additional handout: Future of Health Summit: Summary
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
September 2019
- Topic: Overview of Hacking Health Hamilton
- Guest Speaker: Cynthia Lokker, Assistant Professor, MSc eHealth FHS Lead, McMsater University & Hacking Health
- Gueset Speaker: Melika Babadi, McMaster University & Hacking Health Hamilton
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
October 2019
- Topic: Disease Design Development (D3) Group @ St. Joesph’s Healthcare, Hamilton
- Guest Speaker: Jodi Gilcrest, Research Coordinator, The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton
- Guest Speaker: Gail Martin, Executive Director, The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
November 2019
- Topic: Medical Device Certification and Testing
- Guest Speaker: David Bell, Account Executive, TÜV SÜD
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
December 2019
- Holiday break – no Health Checkup
January 2018
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
February 2018
- Topic: Overview of Impact Capital and Doing Business in the United States
- Guest Speaker: Scott Friedman, Partner, Lippes LLC & Co-Founder Impact Capital
- Guest Speaker: Andrea HusVar, Partner, Lippes LLC
[no slides] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
March 2018
- Topic: Overview of OCE Services and Support for Startups
- Guest Speaker: Nicole DeLong, Business Development Manager, OCE
- Guest Speaker: Gillian Sheldon, Client Services Team Lead, OCE
[no slides] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
April 2018
- Overview: Integrated Comprehensive Care @ St. Joseph’s Healthcare
- Guest Speaker: Fraser Edward, SVP Partnership & Development, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
May 2018
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No Guest Speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
June 2018
- Topic: Overview and Update – Mariner Endosurgery
- Guest Speaker: Mitch Wilson, COO and President of Mariner Endosurgery
[no slides] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
July 2018
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
August 2018
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
September 2018
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
October 2018
- Topic: Introduction to MGD Initaitive on Health Innovation
- Guest Speaker: Sarrah Lal, Senior Manager Michael G. DeGroote Initiative on Health Innovation (MGDII)
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
November 2018
- Topic: Innovation in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke – Building a Cardiovascular Center of Excellence
- Guest Speaker: Dr. Nick Hopkins, Chief Scientist Jacobs Institute (Buffalo, NY)
[presentation slides used] - Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
December 2018
- Holiday break – no Health Check Up
September 2017
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
October 2017
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
November 2017
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights
December 2017
- Topic: Community Updates and Networking
- No guest speaker
- Meeting Summary & Ecosystem Highlights